Country Life

Fields of glory

SET in open wheat fields with no trees nearby to lend height and no other landmarks providing a focal point, the old farmyard at Hailstone Barn was always going to require careful handling. How could one make a garden full of colour and interest, that keeps going all through the growing season, yet sits easily in the landscape without standing out like a sore thumb?

A wildflower garden seemed the obvious solution, but, as anyone who has made one knows, this is infinitely easier to say than do. The first attempt started out well. The farmyard,

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Country Life

Country Life5 min read
Escape To The Hills
THE expansive hills of England’s most wooded county have long attracted those who want to live in the countryside, yet be within a taxi ride of the capital, which is possible to do from these four Surrey houses currently on the market. Anyone heading
Country Life6 min read
The Sound Of Centuries Past
IF writing about music is like dancing about architecture, then, in 816, Bai Juyi, a Chinese poet, made one of the boldest imaginative leaps in his Song of the Lute (translated here by Burton Watson). It describes hearing a woman playing from a boat,
Country Life6 min read
A (crab) Apple A Day
THE Book of Genesis describes it merely as ‘the fruit of the tree of knowledge’, but, when it came to identifying it, the apple was the natural choice for allegorical depictions of humanity’s fall from grace. Ancient traditions abounded with tales of

Related